well, house speaker john boehner did come to the white house last night for president obama's annual holiday party for members of congress, but he did not get in the receiving line to say hello to the president and get a picture taken with him as he has done in previous years and as dozens, if not hundreds, of members of congress did last night. diane? >> okay, jake tapper reporting from the white house tonight. >>> and now we head overseas. take a look at the size of this protest today in cairo, egypt, tahrir square, tens of thousands of protesters reeling from tear gas but determined to send a message to the world about their new duel over democracy, and here's abc's alex marquardt. >> reporter: they came by the tens of thousands hurling stones, pulling down barricades, riot police fired volleys of tear gas and retreated. as the masses grew, president mohammed morsi left the palace. ever since the revolution that captivated the world, egypt has struggled on its road to democracy. two weeks ago, president morsi gave himself unchecked powers -- he says to put egypt on a democratic pa